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Commissioners, it’s time to act on taxes

Letters to the Editor

DEAR EDITOR: To all three Trumbull County Commissioners: It’s time you stop talking and enact the Homestead Exemption for all Trumbull County seniors. Grow a set, and get it done. You raked in millions from the property tax assessments from the re-evaluations from the past year. Quit talking and thinking and start doing! Mr. Malloy. I sent you a letter in 2024 questioning why you were going to add a senior levy to our property taxes. Your comment was “I WANT TO HELP SENIORS STAY IN THEIR HOMES”..... What I wanted to know is how CHARGING me more to live in my home is ...

If you want to be ‘seen,’ try seeing others

Editorials

I recently came across a curious headline: “The Retirement Crisis No One Warns You About: Mattering.” Very few people leaving the workplace have prepared for losing a big part of their identity, according to the Wall Street Journal article. They long to “feel seen” in the next chapter of life. Much has been written about the desire to “be seen” or “feel valued” or “to matter.” And not only for retirees. Much social research centers on the “visibility” problems faced by so-called marginalized people. And YouTube is awash in “style after 50” videos for women ...

Elections plagued by economic problems

Letters to the Editor

DEAR EDITOR: Election interference by establishment elites is rampant in both political parties. To think that our local elections are immune is delusional. The May Primary races within Mahoning and Columbiana counties such as the 7th District Court of Appeals, the Ohio Secretary of State race and others have seen measurable questionably nefarious actions taken. Publicly conveyed, a State Central Committee member who is up for election in May apparently contacted candidate for Secretary of State, Marcell Strbich, allegedly offering a political job interview if he withdrew from the ...

Support 2026 Harvest for Hunger drive

Editorials

One accurate barometer of a community’s economic health and vitality can be measured in the scope of assistance sought for essential daily needs among its members. Using that gauge, 2025 clearly remained a year of hardship, poverty and frustration for far too many in the Mahoning Valley as free food distributions by the Second Harvest Food Bank reached a near-record high of nearly 10 million pounds. That figure, while down slightly from 2024 levels, still paints a very real picture of unacceptably high levels of food insecurity in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties. Much of ...

Orchids & onions March 7-8

Editorials

ORCHID: To the Youngstown Skatepark Association for its grit and determination to build a state-of-the-art skate park in the city. It most recently demonstrated that commitment by hosting a “Pop-Up” portable skate park in the expansive Penguin City Brewing Co. in downtown Youngstown. Clearly, the association proved its point for the need as more than 150 riders and 300 spectators turned up for the somewhat impromptu event last weekend. Additional pop-ups are now planned through the fall. We hope YSA and its association with the Youngstown Parks and Recreation Department can finalize ...

Hello, Washington … is anyone there?

Letters to the Editor

DEAR EDITOR: Do our leaders remember us, “We the People”? Or are they too busy fighting and acting like children? Except for the ones honored and remembered, the State of the Union was a clown show, and our president was the chief clown. Whatever happened to civil discourse and respect? Will class and dignity ever return to the White House? All the time and energy being used for arguing and fighting can be put to better use in governing. Maybe then we could improve health care, reduce inflation, bring down the cost of prescription drugs, improve our infrastructure and so ...